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A visit to 5 star hotel lands at Police Station

Oct 23, 2012

Case Study in Crown Plaza, Gurgaon

I went for case study with my friends in "Crown Plaza", a four star deluxe hotel in Gurgaon. Being the student of Architecture, we got a letter from our college to the HR Department of the hotel acknowledging us as the student who want to visit hotel for educational purpose.

We thought even with the letter they won't entertain us as we had seen in the case of other hotels. And so we made a plan.

We were six and so made 2 groups of 2 and 4 persons. Plan was that the 1st group with 2 person will enter as guests and tell them that we want to see the rooms and facilities there as we need 20 rooms for the foreign delegates who will be attending seminar in our college and 2nd Group of 4 will go to HR Department with the letter.

I and a friend went inside from the guest entrance and other group with the letter from staff entrance.

We entered and went to the reception and told that we were from Vaastukala College of Architecture, New Delhi. (Actually we were from "Jamia Millia Islamia" but we told "Vaastukala" because when people listen "Jamia Millia Islamia" they act like "Is it any Madarsa" (where muslims get religious studies) and people think the other way) and our college is going to hold a seminar where foreign guests will be coming and so we want to lodge them in the hotel and there would be around 50 guests and we would book at least 20 rooms.

They asked for business card and we told we are students. We were made seated and being told that someone will join us soon. Later sales manager came and we explained him the same story and told that at that time we would like to see the rooms and facilities in there and if we liked it we would consult our seniors and book rooms.

Inside the Hotel: He got the keys and made us visit each and every place in the hotel from rooms, bars, restaurants, banquets, conference, gym, spa, library to swimming pool. We also told that we would like to click some pictures to show our seniors and the manager said no problem we can click as many as we like.

We clicked as many pictures as we liked but were stopped twice, first at swimming pool where some people were taking bath and in spa where only females were allowed. They didn't let me enter but my friend who was a girl got entry and no pictures were clicked in there at spa.

After visiting almost every place except the services (we didn't even ask about the services as they could smell something wrong as why any guest would like to see services) We came back to the lobby n met director of sales. She was wondering why were we choosing hotel in Gurgaon and not in Delhi. We told her that last time we made them stay in "Le Meridian" Delhi and this time we want different location.

Meanwhile we got a call from our group members that they were caught by the hotel staffs and we need to get out of the hotel as soon as possible.

We bade goodbye to them saying we will consult our seniors and then call back and came out of the hotel, removed memory card from the camera, got my bike in the parking and stopped only when we were sure we are out of their reach.

We met our group members later and came to know that they didn't get entry by the HR Department saying anyone can come with the letter and due to security reason no one can click pics inside the hotel. They also told that hotel was on a high alert.

After they were denied permission they waited for us standing in outside parking. They started inquiring a gardener about hotel, entrances, parking etc. and one started making sketches. A guard came there, caught all the four, locked them in a room, checked identity, inquired many other things. And this thing went on for about an hour.

On being told that they came for a case study, security in charge threatened that "now we will do a case study on you".

We did a mistake that there was no college stamp on the letter but a teachers signature. After a lot of argument they called our college and our bad luck no one attended the call.

Security chief got it fishy and again started threatening them to hand over to the police but after a conversation on phone with our teacher, they left them but took copy of their identity cards and made them write an application of being sorry and never repeat the act.

On being asked for the copy of the application Security Chief denied that and even threatened to hand over them to the police and never gave them the copy of that application. They were set free.

Next day I got a call from the hotel and they wanted to know if we are going to book the rooms or not. I told my friend will tell you the details.

They contacted my friend and she told them that we booked Le Meridian but they started inquiring her and threatened her to tell the truth or the hotel staff would verify with Vaastukala. She got afraid and told her parents.

Same day we got a call from Gurgaon police that hotel has filed a complaint against us and we need to visit the police station for the verification with our guardian and proper documents on that day only before 5pm.

Everyone was tensed and started calling here and there and even started fighting among each other that you suggested and you should have behaved and bla blaaa ...

We all got prepared with our documents and reached Police Station at 5.15pm. The girl who was with me reached there earlier with her parents, wrote an apology application and got it sorted.

SHO was gone and we had a conversation with SHO on the phone and he asked munsi to check our documents keep a copy of it and write an undersigned application.

At that time we were on roadside, two policemen came out and said "aiye delegates log aa jaiye"

JMI is a Fraud University and Sehwag is illiterate:

They started all muslim, Pakistan, Jamia and nonsense craps. One said "yar tum log aye hi ho badnam college se" and when we said JMI is a central university by an act of parliament he said "sab bakwas hai, sab badmash hai, criminal hai, jamia fraud hai".

We argued that Sehwag is also from JMIi and got a reply "are wo padha likha thode hi hai, wo to jahil hai tabhi to balla chalata rahta hai".

Munsi asked us to show the documents. He was such an illiterate that whatever my friends were showing him he demanded everything copy like "ha ye bhi de do, jo hai sab ki ek copy de do" and I gave him only one of my expired ID cards (college had not issued id card by then)". I with one of my friend went out for the xerox that was around 2 km away from that place even when they had working xerox machine in there.

2nd Case Study: Next day one of our friends uncle who had a contact in the hotel contacted them and went to hotel with our guardians and requested security chief to withdraw complaint against us. They agreed and told us to wait outside till 2.30 i.e. for around 2hrs. But during the meeting we sneaked to the services area and observed everything that was left in our first visit.

BIG DAY: We waited outside hotel and had lunch at a roadside thela and reached police station at 2.30 and came to know that SHO is out and will come after sometime.

After waiting for 2 more hours Hotel security chief went back to hotel saying that they would come back as soon as SHO arrrives. SHO came at 6pm and we called the hotel security and they also arrived there.

We were called in SHO's office where he asked why did we go inside the hotel. I replied "we are student of architecture and came there for educational purpose with the college letter and we didn't get inside, we were outside and inquiring with the gardener and sketching there. I showed him the College letter and after seeing that he ordered munsi to take copy of our documents, us to write an application and hotel security to write an application to withdraw the complaint against us.

Munsi Dictates in English: We again went to the same munsi we met previous day. My uncle started writing an application in English and munsi started dictating him,

"To

the SHO

Police Station

Sector 29, Gurgaon

after dictating this he went blank and then said "ye zaroor likh dijiyega k agar kabhi bulaya jaye to thane aana hai". When the application was completed munsi asked several times 'ye likh diya hai na k bulane pe thana aa jayenge".

After several request he agreed and asked to get the copy of application, we requestd to get the copy from his office only. for which he denied but agreed later.

Everything was done and we came back home peacefully, we were all drained out so badly that we didnt attend the classes also.

A Call from Sales Manager: Next day i got a call from sales manager and he asked me if we have decided to book the rooms or not. i was speechless.... they were still unknown about me and my friend who went inside. Even the security chief had told SHO in Police Station that we were four. They knew only about the four of us who were waiting outside and were caught by the security guards.

I simply told him "I am very sorry to inform you that we have selected "Le Meridian" and have informed the same to Director of Sales".

FUTURE PROBLEM: Its fully over now, but nobody knows if anything happen in that hotel in the future whats going to fall on us.

CASE STUDY IN LE MERIDIAN:

That day after Crown Plaza we repeated the same act in Le Meridian but this time we were more cautious and didn't go to HR department.

Two of us went the same way saying they wanted to book rooms for guests and later we made pair of two at a time and simply got inside, roam here and there, observed everything and returned. After that the remaining two went and roamed here and there and returned. The first two successfully fooled the staffs here also and visited every nook and corner of the hotel and got hundreds of pictures also.

They even came to know where some superstars (Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Hrithik Roshan etc.) stay and who usually come to that hotel.

Luckily no issues here, got easy exit without any problem.

Things we learnt?

Every where people are fooled and even harassed in the name of security

Nobody is going to entertain you for free

Only thing that matters is money. Remember they were saying Hotel is on high alert and nobody can click pictures but when we told that we will book 20 rooms we were allowed to click as many pics as we liked.

Are you a student.....Sorry, we don't entertain students.

Comments:

Teachers before the Incident: We don't want any excuse. You have to do your work at any cost, Everybody has some or other contacts in the hotel. You can at least draw sketches from outside. Do whatever you can.

Teachers after the Incident: No you should have never done that. Case studies are not that much important. Never sketch.

Friends before the Police Case: Really...you guys fooled them.. Amazing yar..It was a great idea... You rocked.

Friends after the Police Case: You played a hero then...face the heat now...

Parents and Guardians: We don't want studies that spoils your life and land you in jail for the rest of your life accusing of terrorism.